Real wages in Russia by year: how much they grew adjusted for inflation
Real wages in Russia in 2025 grew by 5.2% compared to 2024, and in 2024 by 9.7%. This is the wage adjusted for prices: it shows not the amount in rubles, but how many goods and services can be purchased with it. For comparison, the ruble wage added 14.3% in 2025, meaning price increases took away about nine percentage points of that growth. Below is the trend since 2000, two dips (2009 and 2015), a comparison with the ruble wage, a ranking of regions, and charts that can be opened on the website and viewed in full.
What real wages are and how they differ from regular ones
Rosstat calls the regular wage in rubles the nominal wage. The real wage is calculated as follows: the nominal wage is divided by the consumer price index. If there are 10% more rubles, but prices have risen by 10%, the real wage has not changed; the same amount can be purchased with it.
Rosstat publishes the real wage as an index: one hundred percent means "the same as last year," more than one hundred means growth, and less means a decline. An index of 105.2 in 2025 is read simply: the purchasing power of the average accrued wage grew by 5.2%.
An important caveat. This refers to the accrued wage, that is, before personal income tax deduction, and to the average for all employees of organizations. The average wage is pulled upward by high salaries, so the picture for most people is more modest. We have a separate article on how the average differs from the median: median wage in Russia.
Real wages by year: 2018-2025
The last eight years look like this: 108.5% in 2018, 104.8% in 2019, 103.8% in 2020, 104.5% in 2021, 100.3% in 2022, 108.2% in 2023, 109.7% in 2024, and 105.2% in 2025. The full table for Russia, federal districts, and regions can be opened on the website.
The worst of these years was 2022: 100.3%. Formally, wages did not fall, but they did not grow either: the amount of rubles increased by exactly as much as was spent on price increases. However, the two following years produced the best results for the entire period: 108.2% and 109.7%. At the same time, 2025 is still strong: 105.2% is higher than 2019 and 2020, but slower than the two previous years.
What happened before: 2000-2017
The first half of the 2000s saw growth that is difficult to imagine today. In 2000, real wages grew by 20.9%, in 2001 by 19.9%, and in 2002 by 16.2%. Then the pace slowed to 10-13% per year (110.9% in 2003, 110.6% in 2004, 112.6% in 2005, 113.3% in 2006) and returned to 117.2% in 2007.
The first slump occurred during the 2009 crisis: 96.5%, which is a decrease of 3.5%. It turned out to be short. By 2010, the index had already returned to 105.2%, in 2011 it was 102.8%, in 2012 it was 108.4%, and in 2013 it was 104.8%.
The second slump was deeper. In 2014, growth almost stopped (101.2%), and in 2015, real wages fell to 91.0%: people lost a ninth of their purchasing power in one year. For comparison, the 2009 crisis took away half as much. After that, there was weak growth: 100.8% in 2016 and 102.9% in 2017. Only by 2018 did growth return (108.5%).
On the question of "how wages changed with inflation," our article on prices is helpful: inflation in Russia by year.
There are more rubles, but purchasing power has grown less
Average annual nominal wages in Russia: 2,223 rubles in 2000, 20,952 in 2010, 43,724 in 2018, 65,338 in 2022, 89,069 in 2024, and 101,784 in 2025. The table has been maintained since 1991, it can be opened in full.
From 2010 to 2024, ruble wages grew from 20,952 to 89,069 rubles, which is approximately 4.3 times. Real wages over the same period grew 1.64 times: according to the Rosstat table, the 2024 wage is 163.7% of the 2010 level. The difference between 4.3 and 1.64 is the cost of all those years of inflation. There are many more rubles, but one can buy only a little more than one and a half times as many goods with them.
In 2025, the same gap is visible over a single year. Ruble wages grew from 89,069 to 101,784 rubles, which is 14.3%. Real wages added 5.2%. If you roughly divide one by the other, it turns out that prices over the year grew by approximately 8.6%.
You can check for yourself whether inflation has eaten your salary. Enter the required years into the inflation calculator, and it will show how much a sum from the past is worth today.
How much wages have grown compared to previous years
Rosstat calculates another useful indicator: real wages in 2024 relative to each of the previous years. It answers the question "how much richer have I become compared to such-and-such a year."
Here is what the table shows: compared to 2023, the 2024 wage is 109.7%, compared to 2022 it is 118.7%, compared to 2021 it is 119.0%, compared to 2020 it is 124.4%, compared to 2019 it is 129.1%, and compared to 2018 it is 135.3%. Compared to 2014, before the crisis, it is 133.9%, and compared to 2015, the lowest year, it is 152.3%. You can also open this table and look at any year.
If you supplement it with the 2025 index (105.2%), you get a calculation: compared to 2022, real wages grew by approximately a quarter (118.7% multiplied by 105.2%, about 124.9%), and compared to 2014 by approximately 41%. This is our calculation based on two Rosstat tables, not a ready-made figure.
Where real wages are growing faster: regions
The Russian average hides a large spread. In 2025, Tatarstan showed the best result: 110.5%. Next is Chukotka with 109.9%, then the Altai Republic and Zabaykalsky Krai, both at 109.5%. The Moscow Region with 109.2% is also in the lead.
The Kemerovo Region performed the worst in 2025: 98.2%. This is the only region in the table where real wages fell. Nearby in terms of modest results are the Murmansk Region (101.1%), Bashkortostan (101.4%), and Komi (101.5%).
The largest cities are growing slower than the country: in Moscow the index is 104.4%, in St. Petersburg 102.7%. Among federal districts, the Volga Federal District is the highest (106.1%), and the Ural Federal District is the lowest (102.9%). You can compare your salary and prices nearby on the region page, for example average salary in Moscow.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the real wage growing slower than the nominal wage?
Because a portion of the growth is consumed by prices. In 2025, the ruble wage increased by 14.3%, while the real wage increased by only 5.2%. The higher the inflation, the greater this difference.
In which year did the real wage fall the most?
In 2015: the index was 91.0%, which is a minus of 9%. Prior to that, a noticeable decline occurred only in 2009 (96.5%). In all other years since 2000, the index was above 100%.
What does 105.2% in the table mean?
It means that the real wage grew by 5.2% compared to the previous year. Exactly 100% means that purchasing power has not changed.
Are real wages and real incomes the same thing?
No. Wages are only a part of income. Real incomes also include pensions, benefits, and other receipts, and they have their own dynamics. More details in the article real incomes of the population by year.
Summary
Real wages in Russia have almost always grown: out of twenty-six years from 2000 to 2025, there was a decline in 2009 and 2015, and in 2022 it remained unchanged (100.3%). The best recent years: 108.2% in 2023 and 109.7% in 2024. In 2025, growth slowed to 5.2%, despite the fact that the ruble wage grew by 14.3%. Over the 2010-2024 period, the amount of rubles increased by 4.3 times, and purchasing power grew by 1.64 times. The regional variation is significant: from 110.5% in Tatarstan to 98.2% in the Kemerovo Region.
Source of all data: Rosstat.